The present disclosure relates to gas turbine engines, and in particular, to an interstage seal assembly.
Gas turbine engines with multiple turbine stages include interstage seal arrangements between adjacent stages for improved operating efficiency. The interstage seal arrangements confine the flow of hot combustion core gases within an annular path around and between stationary turbine stator blades, nozzles and also around and between adjacent rotor blades.
The interstage seal arrangements may also serve to confine and direct cooling air to cool the turbine disks, the turbine blade roots, and also the interior of the rotor blades themselves as rotor blade cooling facilities higher turbine inlet temperatures, which results in higher thermal efficiency of the engine and higher thrust output. The interstage seal configurations must also accommodate axial and radial movements of the turbine stage elements during engine operation as the several elements are subjected to a range of different loadings and different rates of expansion based upon local part temperatures and aircraft operating conditions.